Io Shirai contract update

Io Shirai reportedly has not signed her newest WWE NXT contract offer.

Shirai will become a free agent next month if she does not sign her new deal, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There’s no word yet on what her plans are, but there’s speculation that she may want to return to Japan.

Shirai reportedly told people in Japan that when her WWE contract was up she wanted to return to Japan to be closer with her family. Unlike Kairi Sane, who had to wait until the end of her deal because she left mid-contract and agreed to work as a WWE Ambassador in Japan so she could move back home, Shirai would be free and clear to do what she wants.

There is reportedly no expectation within Stardom that Shirai will definitely return to the promotion if she does go back to Japan, but legally she would be able to do so.

It was reported last week that Shirai is expected to return to in-ring action “relatively soon,” but no timeframe was given. Shirai has not wrestled since the NXT Stand & Deliver event during WrestleMania 38 Weekend, where she worked the Fatal 4 Way that saw NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose retain her title over Shirai, Cora Jade and Alba Fyre.

Shirai’s injury was never announced, and the severity and nature of the injury have not been confirmed, but WWE officials have been hopeful that Shirai would be back for the summer.